Planes: Battle to the finish
by Shadow-Sneak-Walker
Summary: It was just an ordinary day at the military airfield for the last frogfoot military jet under military command but his life is about to change.
1. Chapter 1

**(AN)Here is the Pixar planes story I informed everyone on the last update of travels of a shadow. This story will have more frequent updates than the travels of a shadow and I promise you guys that. I don't own anything just my OCs and reviews will be appreciated.**

I was fast asleep dreaming I was racing against the famous Dusty Crophopper. I was almost to the finish when my surroundings started to flash red and the wailing of a siren where going off. I was jolted out of my sleep when I recognized that the siren that was going off was the emergency siren. I quickly taxied out of my hanger to find forklifts and the squadron of new F-15 fighter jets rushing around the base with the jets taking off. I quickly stopped a forklift when he passed by me and asked, "what's going on?"  
"sir one of the villages nearby are being attacked by bandit planes."  
"again! I thought we took them out last week."  
"Apparently not sir."  
"help me arm up."  
"yes sir."  
I followed the little tug over to the weapons hanger and got equipped with non lethal stun rounds and live rounds for emergencies. I was also outfitted with four sidewinders and two bombs. After I was finished arming up I taxied over to the commander as he told when to launch.  
"Jet Jetstream reporting for duty sir."  
"alright rookie line up and take off with the rest of the fighter squadron. Just remember, do not use your live rounds unless they fire at you or the civilians with live rounds. Got it?"  
"yes sir!"  
I quickly raced over to the runway and took off.  
"come in Jet. Do you read me?"  
"loud and clear command."  
"alright you will be a part of Bravo squad since they have one plane out sick."  
"Roger command."  
It took me a few seconds but I was able to locate the rest of Bravo squad. When I pulled up into the formation almost all of the other jets groaned in disbelief.  
"command why do we have to be stuck with the treefrog?"  
"I don't want to hear it Bravo four. You guys are a plane short and he is the only one we have that can fill in that place and be useful. Got it?"  
"yes sir!"  
I could easily tell that they didn't want a sukhoi su-25 frogfoot in their ranks of F-15 fighters, but they were stuck with me for this mission. We turned to the north and started to fly towards the village.


	2. Chapter 2

We had been flying for about thirty minutes now and we have tried multiple times to call Alpha squad to see what the situation was but we kept getting static. At first we thought the static was from the mountains we were flying through but when we left the mountains behind we still got nothing but static. I was growing very uneasy about this whole thing but what worried me more was that you couldn't see any of the tractor wildlife that was famous here. Out of weariness I started to scan the ground for any crashes or gun emplacements but luckily I was being paranoid. I was proven wrong though because as soon as we neared the end of the valley we could see smoke in the distance both in the village and around it. We all sped up to get a closer look when a lone plane broke through the smoke.  
"alright people arm your stun rounds."  
At Bravo one's command we all armed our stun rounds. Then Bravo one broadcasted through his speakers and the radio, "unidentified aircraft state who you are and land in the field for inspection."  
The plane didn't move an inch to the side as it kept on it's trajectory towards us. That was the first sign for me that told me something wasn't right here.  
"sir I would recommend we switch over to live rounds because I think this might be an ambush."  
"negative. Remain on stun rounds until they fire on us."  
I instantly got a bad feeling when we drew closer to one of the smoke stacks. The rest of the squad didn't look down to see what was causing the smoke but I did. I almost fell out the sky when I saw that in the crater was an F-15 from Alpha squad. Then it clicked.  
"sir it's a trap!"  
As soon as I said that six more planes came out from behind the smoke column and opened fire. Causing the plane that was coming towards us to go down in flames.  
"break formation and engage with live rounds."  
One of the good things about being a frogfoot is that I can switch between stun rounds and live rounds instantly while the F-15s have to have about ten minutes to switch. The ten minutes they needed wasn't enough time because bullets started flying past us. Bravo three was unlucky and got hit in the right wing. As soon as he was hit I revved up my mini-gun under my nose cone and fired at the incoming planes. Me firing right away must have surprised the enemy planes because they started to break off but my first burst caught two in the mid section causing them to go down. The remaining four must have gotten mad at their comrades deaths because they continued to fire at the squad knocking out Bravo Four and Five. Bravo three was starting to loose fuel from the hit to his wing. The other fighter jets were still in the process of switching over when I locked onto two of the remaining four and fired my sidewinders at them. Either they didn't expect sidewinders or they were unable to counter them, I'll never know because the sidewinders did a direct hit causing them to explode but not before the let loose another volley of bullets hitting Bravo five and six. Now it was me and Bravo one, two and three against the two remaining unknown enemies. Another volley from the two remaining planes hit Bravo one and two but they didn't go down. By now we were very close to the unknown enemy planes. By now the three remaining jets in Bravo squad were able to switch over to live rounds. They opened fire at the enemy but with their injuries they weren't very accurate but they were able to clip the wing of the plane on the left. After being hit the plane on the left broke away and started to head back to the village. Bravo one and two broke off in pursuit while Bravo three pulled back because he was starting to run low on fuel. Now it was just me and the last plane. We both pulled the triggers on our weapons but both of us got an audible click telling both of us we were out of ammo. I growled in frustration because he was to close for me to lock onto with the remainder of my sidewinders.  
"hump. Chicken it is."  
We continued onto a collision course with each other until at the last possible second I pulled up and avoided his wing but my wing was still in front of him. Luckily for me my wings are reinforced and because they were reinforced my wing scraped all along his side leaving behind a deep gash. The impact from my wing hitting him caused me to lose my balance and fall. By the time I recovered and regained altitude the enemy plane was already out of range and trailing smoke. I looked around for the rest of Bravo squad and spotted them scouting out the rest of the town to check for any survivors. When I joined up with Bravo one and two I could tell that they were sad that their squad mates had died and that it looked like no one from Alpha squad or the village survived.  
"guys. Lets report back to base. There's nothing we can do now."  
"agreed."  
"Command we are going to need a clean up crew at the village."  
"Roger that Bravo one. Is anyone from Alpha there with you."  
"No sir. Alpha, the village and Bravo four through six are no more."  
"I am sorry to hear that Bravo one. What about the attackers?"  
At the question I let out a sigh and spoke into the mic.  
"sir one of them got away."  
"Alright. Bravo team report back to base for debriefing."  
"sir yes sir."  
With that me and the rest of Bravo team flew back to base.


	3. Chapter 3

**(AN) Here is an early chapter update. Hope you guys enjoy and as always read and review.**

As we landed back at base I saw Bravo three in the med bay being repaired and the tugs that had been the other fighters mechanics and friends were slowly packing up their fighter's things to be shipped back to their families. As the three of us were taxiing back to Bravo squads hanger the commander of the airfield came up to us.  
"Bravo team report to the main hanger for debriefing."  
"sir yes sir!"  
At the commander's command I became curious because the commander never ordered a squad to the main hanger unless it was important. We made our way over to the hanger and when we entered we were shocked to see the wreckage of an A-10 thunderbird and the wreckage of a sukhoi su-25 frogfoot in the middle of the hanger.  
"what the?!"  
"shocking isn't it."  
At the commanders voice we all visibly jumped from surprise.  
"Sir who are these planes?"  
"these Jet are the planes you shot down."  
"but why would they open fire on us?"  
"these planes were part of a group that wasn't happy about losing their jobs to the new F-15s and the F-16s. They took it sorely and many started to attack military bases or luring the F-15s that had taken their jobs into traps and killing them off."  
"so what you are saying is that the frogfoots and the thunderbirds are turning against us?"  
"I'm afraid so and because of how this situation seems to be intensifying I am sorry to say this but I'm going to have to ask you to leave the military base Jet."  
As soon as the commander said that I felt my entire world shatter.  
"sorry kid it wasn't my call. The higher ups are afraid that you are a mole in this base and they want to see you leave this base peacefully. Heh who knows, maybe you can finally go and race in that wings around the globe race that you can't seem to stop talking about. Naturally your tug will stay with you and you can resupply on sidewinders since you are the only one who seems to use them and you can keep the stun rounds you have loaded but the bombs we will have to take back."  
"yes sir. I'll report to the munitions hanger for ammo cycling then to my hanger to pack my supplies."  
As I turned to leave the commander quickly said, "If you ever need anything don't be afraid to ask."  
"I'll hold you to that sir."  
After that I taxied over to the munitions hanger and unloaded the bombs and resupplied the two spent sidewinders as well as two extras in my autoloader. After that I found my mechanic/ friend in my hanger with all of my few possessions packed up.  
"You seem ready to go Luke."  
"I heard the news before you landed and I guessed that it meant they were going to boot you out of the military."  
"as usual you were right."  
"so were do we go now boss?"  
"To the wings around the globe qualifying rounds."  
Alright I'll race you there Jet."  
"hah good luck beating me Luke."  
With that I raced to the refueling station and refueled before I took off towards the wings around the globe qualifying rounds.


	4. Chapter 4

When I arrived at the qualifying rounds I was surprised to find Luke already there setting up a tent for the qualifying rounds.  
"how did you beat me here?"  
"express shipping. That's how."  
"cheater."  
"hay you didn't specify how I had to get here."  
"true. So have you already signed me up?"  
"yes I have. You are competitor number twenty."  
"thanks for doing that Luke."  
"no problem."  
"oh before I go talk to the competition can you quickly disarm the sidewinders."  
"sure thing and you also have to make your way over to the official's tent so that they can make sure you don't have any illegal parts or fuel."  
"alright I'll head over there now."  
As I taxied to the official's tent I passed by Rip-slinger's tent and Dusty's tent. When I passed Rip-slinger's tent I heard one of the twins remark that I looked weird because I didn't have a propeller. I just ignored them because I know what they did last year in the wings around the globe rally. When I was passing by Dusty's tent a wrench came flying out and nearly hit my cowl. I stood there for a second letting my mind process what just happened before I exclaimed, "What was that?!"  
I looked over at Dusty's tent just in time to see his mechanic, Dottie, run out of the tent. When she saw me she instantly started to apologize for the thrown wrench.  
"I'm so sorry sir. I didn't mean for that wrench to come flying out here."  
"it's alright. It missed me by a fraction of a meter."  
"Few. That's a relief."  
"Dottie what's taking you so long."  
As soon as that was said, the famous Dusty Crophopper rolled out of the tent followed by the Skipper. When the Skipper saw me he didn't look very pleased while Dusty had a look of curiosity.  
"oh who are you you?"  
"my name is Jet Jetstream and I'm a..."  
I didn't get to saw what model I was before Skipper cut me off.  
"your a Russian sukhoi su-25 frogfoot."  
"yes my model is from Russia but I was born in the United States."  
"that doesn't change the fact that you are from Russia."  
"Look. I don't want to talk about this because I haven't been having a good day."  
When I turned to leave Skipper noticed the sidewinders I had equipped to my wings.  
"What's the idea rookie carrying live ammo outside of the military base?"  
"oh these. They are disarmed so they are basically useless."  
"I wouldn't be surprised if the officials told you to remove them from your wings."  
"well speaking of officials I need to go over to the check in tent. Have a good day Skipper and Dusty."  
With that I left and entered the check in tent.  
"I'm here to be inspected for the races."  
"alright park on the right and I'll see to you in a second."  
I taxied over to the right and the entire time the tug official had his back to me. It wasn't long before the tug turned around to inspect me but as soon as he saw me he looked like he was about to have a panic attack.  
"don't shoot!"  
He hid behind his clipboard out of fear. It took me a second before I realized that my sidewinders were still in the ready to fire position.  
"oh! Sir these sidewinders are disarmed."  
While I was saying that I put all but one away inside my wing. The one I left out showed a screen that read 'missiles disarmed.' The tug seemed to have calmed down when he read the screen.  
"few! I thought you were going to shoot me or something."  
"I would never fire my armaments at civilians."  
"good but for future references I would recommend you keep those missiles stored away in your wings."  
"will do sir."  
"alright lets just get the rest of the tests finished then you are good to go."  
(an hour later.)  
"there we go your all checked. Just remember to keep those missiles inside your storage bay."  
"will do sir."  
After I left the inspection tent behind I went back to my tent to find Luke setting up a basic camp to last until qualifying rounds were over.  
"wow your back early."  
"the inspection process doesn't take as long as I thought it would."  
"that's good to hear. Now why don't you go around and talk to the other competitors and get to know a few of them."  
"I've already met Dusty and his crew and I don't want to go near Ripslinger's crew."  
"well I heard a rumor that your not the only jet powered plane in the competition."  
"Really? Who?"  
"I don't know. Your just going to have to look for them yourself."  
"*sigh* alright you win. I'll go meet the other competitors."  
With that said I left me tent to socialize with the other racers.


	5. Chapter 5

**(AN) This story will most likely be the quickest to update as the story is reaching the climax but I am in need of suggestions from you the viewers. In the later chapter(cough chapter 16 and chapter 17 cough) I need suggestions for a car model to be the President and a model of a small jet plane with a description of what it will look like. The only restrictions on the jet model is that it has to be smaller than a jet liner. PM or review with your suggestions and your name and I will give you credit for the model when it appears in the chapter. Now on with the story.**

After an hour of meeting the other competitors I was tired from driving around and heading back to tent. It was getting dark so I could only see where the overhead floodlights shone. I was turning a dark corner to turn into the aisle with my tent when I suddenly ran into someone who was turning the corner as well.  
"oh I'm sorry I didn't see you."  
"it's all right no harm no foul."  
The feminine voice took me off guard but when she rolled into the light I nearly had an engine attack because she was a sukhoi su-25 frogfoot. We both stood there in awkward silence before one of twins shouted over to us.  
"Get a room you two."  
"Quiet Ned!"  
When we both said that in unison we could hear Ned laughing his tail-fin off.  
"want to scare him?"  
"let's do it."  
We both crept around in the dark until we spotted Ned laughing with his brother Zed. I silently brought out two of my sidewinders making sure they were unarmed when she saw me bring out my sidewinders she got the idea and brought out two sidewinders of her own while making sure they were disarmed. We waited until the twins had their backs to us before we slowly rolled up behind them.  
"Ned that was hilarious."  
"I agree Zed. We should do that more often."  
"you two think it's funny to mess with other planes?"  
At the sound of my voice the twins froze and slowly turned around. When they saw the two of us with mad expressions and our missiles out they both released a high pitch girly scream.  
"Boo!"  
The twins ran as fast as they could back to Ripslinger's tent in fear leaving behind a dust cloud of themselves. Once they were out of earshot we both broke into a fit of laughter while at the same time putting our sidewinders away.  
"the look on their faces was priceless."  
"I will have to agree with you on that."  
"by the way. My name is Jet Jetstream."  
"my name is Natalie Dust."  
"well Natalie it was a pleasure meeting you and also I'm sorry for running into you."  
"it was a pleasure meeting you to Jet and I believe I was at fault because I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."  
"how about this. We were both at faults so truce?"  
"truce."  
We stood there for a few awkward seconds then out of nowhere a cricket started chirping making it even more awkward.  
"well I guess I'll see you in the qualifiers Natalie."  
"and I you."  
With that we left for our tents to rest for the qualifiers.


	6. Chapter 6

**(AN)Here is another chapter for you guys but I was actually surprised that no one reviewed or PMed with a suggestion for this story. Oh well I'll just look up a random plane for the unknown plane that will come later in the story. now on with the story.**

Chapter 6

"Good morning race fans. Today is the final qualifiers for the wings around the globe rally being held worldwide."  
"Alright racers today's qualifiers is a lap around the pylons. Alright Franzerelly your up."  
A yellow plane with a blue lining got onto the runway and started through the starting gate then he banked right through the blue pylons on the knife-edge then he performed a 180 degree turn through gate three then he lined up for the three red pylons to weave back and forth between them then he went through a pair of blue pylons and performed a Cuban 180 turn and rushed back to the starting gate. After he was done his time was one minute forty-two second and fifty-three milliseconds. The entire time I was watching him do the maneuvers I failed to notice Natalie pulling up beside me.  
"humph. I can easily beat that."  
"I can toooooooo. Wow."  
When I looked at Natalie I could see her actual color under the sun. Her colors were standard U.S. desert camo except her colors were a little lighter making her shine in the sun. My colors was also desert camo except mine was a darker variant of the camo. After I few seconds of silence I replied, "I can easily beat that as well."  
"oh really?"  
"yes really."  
"how about we have a little wager then."  
"what is it and what are the outcomes if either of us win."  
"whoever gets the fastest time out of the two of us gets to choose something for the loser to do."  
"hmm. Deal."  
"competitor number twenty please report to the airstrip for your qualifying rounds and competitor number twenty-one please come to the airstrip to be on standby for your qualifiers."  
"well I'll see you later Natalie."  
"you are number twenty?"  
"yes. Why?"  
"oh nothing. It's just that I'm number twenty-one."  
"well I guess I'll see in the sky Nat."  
After saying that nickname I sped away before she could respond. After slowing down next to the announcers booth I heard them say over the intercom.  
"Will Jet Jetstream please report to the airstrip for his Qualifiers."  
"Hey I'm Jet Jetstream."  
"A military jet? Shouldn't you be off patrolling the borders or something like that instead of racing?"  
"um. I'm not in the military at the moment."  
"I'm fine with it as long as I don't get in trouble for it. Now Jet start your engine and go."  
At the announcer's command I took off and lined up with the starting gate. As soon as I passed through the gate I opened my thrusters to full power causing me to fly through the obstacle course with speed and precision. As soon as I passed through the start gate again everything was silent until my time was placed on the board. When everyone saw the time of one minute twenty seconds and thirty milliseconds the crowd watching went wild at the fast time. When I landed I could see the stunned faces of the twins and Dusty.  
"your up Natalie."  
"time to beat your time."  
I watched as Natalie took off and went through the starting gate. I noticed that she did the same tactic I did and sped up after going through the starting gate. She performed all of the obstacles almost flawlessly but when she came to the Cuban 180 she slowed down slightly then she sped up on the home stretch. When she landed she and I were looking at the score board in anticipation then her time of one minute twenty seconds and thirty-one milliseconds displayed on the scoreboard.  
"wow. Talk about a close match folks. Two military Frogfoots are almost identical in time."  
"it looks like I lose."  
"don't worry Natalie I won't make you do anything that's embarrassing or could possibly get you disqualified."  
"Thanks Jet. Your a sweet guy."  
"no problem. So hey why don't we go refuel while the rest of the racers race?"  
"sure why not."  
Why both went over to the refueling station while everyone else flew through their trials. We were enjoying each others company when out of nowhere an oil can came flying through the air and scratched the paint on Natalie's right side. We tried looking for who threw it but we couldn't find anyone in the crowded refueling depo so we just marked it off as a stray oil can but when I looked back at Natalie I froze. The can had chipped the paint on her side to reveal a scar that when I looked closer ran from the front to back. In my mind I was freaking out because she was the fighter that I played chicken with at the battlefield while on the outside I had a worried look on my face and asking her if she was alright. My mind was having trouble thinking of something to say without blurting out that she was the one at the destroyed village when an official called out over the intercom. "Jet Jetstream. You have a call in hanger one."  
In my mind I sighed a deep sigh when I turned towards hanger one and sped away.  
(Natalie's POV)  
I couldn't help but feel like I knew Jet from somewhere but where? Then there was the strange way he acted when he saw the scar I had on my ride side.  
"it's almost like he knows where I got my scar at. No its not possible that he is in the fighter retaliation but I feel like I've seen him before. How did he manage to lose paint on his right wing."  
Then it clicked. The battle at the destroyed village. The single plane that had taken down almost the entire squadron of Frogfoots and thunderbirds and had played chicken with her when they both ran out of ammo. That plane had dodged her wing and used his right wing to cut into her on her right causing the scar that was on her side. It was him! That's why he started to act strange when that oil can chipped her paint. That means he was the one in that squadron of F-15s that saved those three F-15s from falling into the trap.  
"I need to find him and tell him that I was forced to attack the village."


	7. Chapter 7

(Jet's POV)  
when I reached the hanger I found my commander from the military base there. He looked very worried and was pacing the hanger floor when I rolled in. When he heard me enter he looked at me and sighed a sigh of relief.  
"good your alright."  
"what's going on commander?"  
"everything is hitting the fan Jet."  
"why? What happened?"  
"a day after you left a squad of stealth fighters arrived and questioned everyone on where you had gone. They said that me releasing you from duty temporarily with ammunition was a threat to national security."  
"They do know that if a sidewinder is free fired without a target the sidewinder will auto lock onto the closest heat source and that's yourself if you try to attack anything that's not alive."  
"that's what I told them but they still feared that you would use them on high value personnel."  
"did you show them the list of missiles that are equipped and show them the fact that I have them disarmed and I can't rearm them until the commander gives me the activation code?"  
"yes I showed them and that is the only thing keeping them off your back."  
"if they don't want me having the sidewinders I can give them back to you to take back to base."  
"few I thought you would have put up a fight for your sidewinders."  
"no I won't put up a fight plus the racing officials don't like the fact that I'm military with a full arsenal."  
"alright. You guys can come out now."  
As soon as the commander said that four stealth fighters uncloaked with two tugs hiding behind them. The tugs came forward and took the missiles when I took them out of storage then the tugs placed the missiles inside a crate in the back of the hanger.  
"there. The missiles are back under your control now can I go because they are about to announce who is going on to the wings around the globe rally."  
"yes you may and good luck."  
"your going to need it to get to Iceland and over the Himalayas."  
"thanks for the boost of confidence guys."  
With that I left the hanger and found Natalie over at the scoreboard waiting for the final score.  
"hey Natalie."  
"oh hey Jet. That was a long phone call."  
"yeah well it was my old military commander wanting the sidewinders back."  
"oh that sounds like it was fun."  
"not really. Well anyways do you know who made it?"  
"nope but they should be displaying it any minute."  
Just as she said that the announcer started to announce who the top five were.  
"in first is Jet Jetstream. In second is Natalie Dust. In third is Dusty Crophopper. In fourth is Ned and in fifth is Zed. Congratulations you five we hope to see the rest of you next year at trials. The five planes who are moving on should get to JFK airport in New York City, New York in a weeks time."  
"well it looks like you beat everyone."  
"yeah and now I can go faster since I don't have the sidewinders weighing me down."  
"do you want to race to JFK?"  
"oh you are so on. First one to pass the statue of liberty torch wins."  
We quickly refueled and got onto the runway to start our mini race but before we could turn our engines to full blast we both heard two tugs clear their throats.  
"forgetting someone Jet?"  
"Forgetting someone Nat?"  
We both turned to look at our tugs. Luke and Natalie's mechanic stood there with their forks crossed and an unhappy face.  
"Luke! I'm so sorry I forgot about you."  
"Nissa! I'm sorry I forgot about you."  
"yeah we figured since your both a little competitive that you would make the trip to New York a race."  
"just be glad we are forgiving. Now how about we have a proper start to a race?"  
"yeah, alright let's go."  
"alright on your mark."  
We both revved our engines to max power.  
"get set."  
We both did a quick flap check and tail-fin check.  
"GO!"  
Both tugs dropped their forks and we shot off the runway with extreme speed leaving behind scorch marks on the grass behind the runway and a lot of dust from our jet engines. We were off to New York.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN(I'm back and I'm very sorry for leaving everyone hanging like that and the reason behind the big gap between updates is because school and my, at the time new, job took all available time and finals. But enough with me giving excuses because I will be posting several chapters for this story and the other stories as well as posting a new story to make up for the big delay. Now on with thee story.)**

Chapter 8

The entire time we were nosecone to nosecone but as we were approaching the statue of liberty I went full power going over five hundred miles per hour taking Natalie by surprise and leaving behind a loud rumble as I kept speeding up. I was going so fast that the air around me was starting to form a barrier in front of me then the unexpected happened; I broke the sound barrier. The resulting clap from the sound barrier breaking was so loud that I could see cars, planes, and boats being shaken from the force of the sound barrier breaking. My radio then crackled to life.  
"unidentified aircraft you are entering a I highly populated area. Slow down or we will send out jets to stop you."  
"alright tower. Sorry about that. I am competitor number twenty for the Wings Around the Globe Rally and I was just racing another competitor to see who could get past the statue of liberty first."  
"um racer number twenty you flew past the statue of liberty about a half mile back."  
"really? Was I really flying that fast?"  
"yes and you and your companion are clear to land on runway two with heavy coming in behind you."  
"roger and she isn't my companion."  
"sure whatever you say dude."  
I didn't have to wait long before Natalie caught up with me exhausted and with a look of surprise on her face.  
"how did you go so fast and how is it possible that you broke the sound barrier?"  
"slow down. I'll tell you after we land. We are cleared to land on runway two but we need to get off the runway fast."  
"alright."  
We both lined up with the runway and put our landing gear down and touched down on the runway. Not long after we touched down we could see a giant airliner coming in for a landing. We both started to look around for the pits while at the same time dodging busy tugs and giant airliners. We got a lot of stares from other aircraft and a lot of the stewardess from the airliners were whispering to each other. We finally gave up and asked a white airliner and his tug were the pits were. The tug was the first to reply.  
"oh sure. You just keep going down this runway until you see red barrels. You want to take a right not the left and if you reach another set red barrels then you went too far."  
The airliner chuckled and said, "just go straight then turn right you can't miss it."  
"thanks. Nice paint job."  
"why thanks I worked hard on this to keep it's shine."  
The airliner then interrupted him.  
"I think he was talking to me."  
We quickly moved on as they continued their debate. We continued down the runway until we saw the pits and at the gate was the official that had done the announcements at the qualifiers.  
"ah if it isn't the two jets that are the highlight of this year's race."  
"hello to you to Frank."  
"you two are the first ones to arrive from the qualifiers here in the United States. Now if you two will follow me I will show you two to your hanger."  
We were so excited about the race that we failed to interpret that he said hanger instead of hangers. When we arrived at a large hanger in the pits we noticed that it was an old military hanger from world war 2.  
"well here is your hanger and I've received word that both of your tugs have arrived."  
It was then that it struck me.  
"wait we have to share a hanger until the race starts?"  
"yes; mostly because we are running out of space and the fact that you two can't be placed in a tent without accidentally setting it ablaze."  
We both felt very awkward at this point and the arrival of our tugs didn't help us either.  
"well see you two when the race starts. Oh and because of how you release fire behind you when you take off you are being put in the back of the startup with blast shields behind you."  
With that Frank left us to return to his post. Luke was the first to speak.  
"why are you two being placed in a hanger together!"  
"I don't know Luke. Got any ideas Natalie?"  
When I looked over at her she was frozen to the spot.  
"um Natalie? You ok?"  
That must have done the trick because she snapped out of it.  
"what did you say Jet?"  
"I asked you if you knew why they would stick us in the same hanger."  
"I'm not sure but I think it might have to do with the fact that we are the same model and the fact that we already hang out with each other a lot already."  
Then Nissa spoke up, "these next few days should be interesting."  
At that statement Luke just laughed as Natalie and I went bright red.  
"well I'm going to refuel then hit the sack."  
After I left the group to refuel I let out a sigh as I thought that there is no possible way that this could get any more awkward. Boy was I wrong.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

While I was at the pump refueling Dusty came up to the pump next to me.  
"hey Jet. You got here fast."  
"oh hey Dusty. The reason I got here so fast was because I raced someone else here."  
"oh really? Who?"  
"Natalie Dust."  
"that must have been fun. So who won?"  
"I did but I was going so fast that I overshot the marker big time."  
"where you really going that fast?"  
"I was fast enough to break the sound barrier and for the tower to warn me to slow down."  
Dusty just sat there with his mouth open in shock and disbelief.  
"don't get me wrong I like going fast but when I broke the sound barrier it hurt my ears to the point that they were ringing after the explosion of sound."  
"So that means your going to slow down to avoid doing that?"  
"yeah. Especially when we get near the Himalayas."  
We both shivered at the thought of getting buried in snow.  
"well I gotta go finish setting up my half of the hanger."  
"what do you mean you have to set up your half of the hanger? Are you and your mechanic not on equal terms?"  
"no I was just placed in a metal hanger with Natalie Dust on the account that we are both jets and the fact that we could burn down the tents with our engines."  
"how did Natalie take the fact that she had to share the hanger with a guy."  
"I don't really know because I booked it before she could snap out of her shock."  
"well good luck for when you get back to the hanger and at the race next week."  
"thanks and good luck to you two."  
I finished refueling then I took the long route back to the hanger. When I approached the hanger I could see that the lights were on inside. I slowly came up to the hanger door and knocked on it. I waited for a few minutes until I heard her say come in. When I opened the door I saw that Natalie was on the left side of the hanger in the back while her mechanic was next to the door and my mechanic was on the right side of the door. I rolled over to my sleeping mat and started to power down but when I saw the anxious look on Natalie's face I raised a questioning windshield wiper.  
"alright whats wrong?"  
Natalie reacted like she was bit by a wheel rattler and exclaimed, "What makes you think that something is wrong! I can't sit here and go through my thoughts about the most terrifying night of my life!"  
"alright alright I won't ask but just answer me this. Does it have to do with a burning village and your squad getting shot down and you almost crashing mid-air with another plane?"  
The silence that followed was unbearable and both mechanics had worried looks on their faces as they waited to see the outcome of this. After a tense five minutes Natalie sighed loudly and asked, "you were that plane that almost collided with me over the village weren't you?"  
"and if my guess is correct then that scar on your right side was caused by my right wing as we narrowly avoided each other."  
"correct."  
"here is another question I have to ask you Natalie. Why did you destroy the village and all of those fighter jets?"  
"to tell you the truth I was against the entire operation and even during the operation I never fired a bullet or bomb directly at anyone. I purposefully missed my targets and I only bombed structures that showed no signs of life."  
"and when you went against my squad you emptied the rest of your mag into open air and when you needed it most you ran out. Am I correct?"  
"Yes. That is what happened and since the squad I was with was destroyed I took that opportunity to go M.I.A and leave that group. They're nothing but a bunch of jerks and bullies anyway."  
"but isn't the group you were with not allow anyone to leave their group in fears of that person handing over all of their hidden bases."  
"that is true but there have been exceptions."  
"like you not wanting to have anything to do with the military and the fact that you just want to race."  
"exactly. Now that were on this subject, why aren't you still in the military after that?"  
"their reasoning was that they were afraid I could be a mole inside the base but in reality it was the commanders way of giving me a reason to leave the base and fly in the wings around the globe rally."  
"you must have been close friends with your commander."  
"we were. We grew up together and were best friends. He knew I loved to race mostly because when there was nothing to do at the base I would try to get the other jets to race me."  
"oh really? Then you must of had a lot of practice."  
"actually I only was able to race each jet once because once flight formation rules are taken off I can zoom through the sky at unimaginable speeds."  
"that would make sense since you did that in our race. How fast can you go?"  
"I don't really know because as soon as I break the sound barrier there is either the base boundary line or I am told by nearby towers to slow down."  
"that's impressive and what do you plan on doing once the rally is over with?"  
"to tell you the truth. I'm not one hundred percent sure. I do know that I'm not going back to the military and I also plan to settle down and live life without the danger of being sent out on a mission that could be my last."  
The hanger was quiet as Natalie processed what I said. While I was waiting for Natalie to process her thoughts I noticed that the two mechanics had slipped out. I was wondering why the two mechanics left when Natalie let out a huge sigh and sunk down on her wheels so that she had her belly on the ground.  
I was about to ask her what was wrong when she beat me to it by answering, "it feels nice being able to relax and not have to worry about the guys thinking that a girl could never do what the guys do. You are the first jet I've met that isn't uptight and focused on combat; Instead, you are kind, caring, and understanding."  
I just sat there with my mouth open in shock as she laid there sleepily. It wasn't long before I heard steady breathing signaling that she was asleep. I just smirked and said, "Goodnight Natalie." then I followed suit and fell asleep.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

There was a lot of noise going on around me I could hear two voices talking to each other.  
"should we wake them up?"  
"No leave them be. They look cute together."  
While the two voices continued to talk I became aware that something was touching my right side. I was both curious at what it could be and frightened if it was what I thought it was.  
"Look they're waking up."  
I slowly opened my eyes only to look directly into Natalie's eyes as they opened. We stayed like that for what felt like an eternity before we heard Nissa whisper to Luke, "I wonder if they're going to kiss."  
It was loud enough that we both heard it causing us to break out of the trance and cause both of us to turn a very bright red. Then Natalie looked at how she was leaning into me, almost in a hug then she instantly backed away in shock while at the same time startling me which caused me to flare my engines which in turn caused her to flare her engines. The two tugs watched in awe as the two jets put on a light show with the flames coming out of their engines. Our engines only flared for about a minute but when I looked behind us the building had two large areas that was melting causing the building to creek as it slowly tilted back as the back wall sank down. We all watched as we prepared to rush out should the building decide to collapse. We then heard a voice behind us chuckling and saying, "I don't want to say I told you so but I told you so. I knew you two would accidentally ignite your engines and light up the area behind you."  
We all turned around to see Frank laughing behind us.  
"well it looks like you four are going to have to sleep out in the field now until the hanger is fixed."  
We just gave him blank stares as he kept laughing at our misfortune. His laughter was loud enough to wake the nearby racers who were not happy about being woken up at eight in the morning but when the racers right next to the hanger saw the condition of it they quickly moved away from it as it started cave in slightly. The four of us grabbed the little gear we had and bolted out of the building. As soon as we were clear of the doorway the main support beam gave way and landed in the center of the hanger with a loud thud and the rest of the building followed suit causing the air to fill with smoke and the painful sound of metal bending and grinding against each other. By the time the smoke settled the emergency crews had arrived to tend to the emergency should the building have landed on someone. There was no need for them as we looked upon the twisted wreckage of the hanger and the torn tents around it. As the emergency crews tended to the other planes and tugs in the area the four of us slipped away from the crowd. Once we were about halfway across the airfield the two tugs left to get breakfast in one of the airport cafes while we continued to explore the rest of the airport.  
We continued through the airport in silence until Natalie broke the silence.  
"I'm sorry about this morning Jet."  
"What do you have to be sorry for? We are both at fault for destroying the hanger."  
She started to blush slightly as she thought of how to phrase the next sentence.  
"No I mean when we woke up in the hug."  
"oh."  
We went back into a silence as we continued through the airport. When we neared the edge of the airport we came to the edge of the ocean. We sat there gazing out to sea until I broke the silence.  
"If you think I hate you for that then your wrong. To tell you the truth I didn't actually mind that you were hugging me, I kind of liked it to be truthful."  
"you are really sweet when you need to be. I like that."  
We continued to stare out to sea as the sun peeked over the horizon casting it's orange light into the sky.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

After the hanger incident we were both more aware of our surroundings as we attempted to control our emotions to prevent anymore accidental engine flares. Tomorrow was the start of the race so I decided to relax in a spa but because of how I was a guy I went in disguise until I was just outside the pits. When I arrived the tug in charge was on the phone and when she saw me approach she ushered me to take a seat until she was finished with her call. I went over to one of the plane chairs and relaxed as the padded chair felt really good against my wheels after the many days of training and my previous military life. It wasn't long before the receptionist finished her call and motion for me to approach the desk.  
"Name?"  
"Jet Jetstream and I'm here for the sauna, massage, and wax combo."  
"ah here you are, Jet Jetstream. One of our staff will lead you to the sauna shortly."  
The receptionist pressed a button on the desk and instantly a tug appeared from the door on right.  
"Right this way sir."  
As I followed the tug out of the room I heard the receptionist mutter under her breath, "that's two Frogfoots today."  
I was curious about who the other Frogfoot could be while at the same time afraid that it was someone I knew. I didn't have to wait long because as soon as I entered the sauna there on the opposite end of the sauna was Natalie and Nissa. At the same time Natalie and I said, "What are you doing here! Me? What about you?"  
The other occupants of the sauna ignored our outburst but I quickly parked in the spot next to Natalie after thanking the tug that lead me there.  
"Since when did you like spas?"  
"I could ask you the same thing Jet? Why are you here?"  
"I'm here for the relaxing sauna then a relaxing massage then a wax. What about you and Nissa?"  
"we are both doing the same thing as you."  
The three of us sat in silence until I cleared my throat and said, "well this is awkward."  
"agreed"  
"agreed"  
"well I'll be right back."  
As Nissa left I failed to see the evil smirk on her face. After Nissa left we both decided to relax and enjoy the sauna. As the steam relaxed my joints I saw Natalie lean so that her left wing was touching the ground and her right wing was raised up. I found it strange that she would do that but then I heard a small snore come from her. I just chuckled and gently tapped her right wing with my left wing waking her up.  
"Wh-What?"  
"you fell asleep."  
"oh heh. I guess saunas are as relaxing as they say they are. How long was I out?"  
"not long. You kind of tipped though."  
At the mention of her tipping over she blushed a bright red.  
"did anyone else see me tipped over?"  
"No. Everyone else is focused on relaxing."  
"few. That's good...well I'm going on to the massages. You coming?"  
"sure."  
When we both exited the sauna we came face to face with Nissa and a staff tug.  
"oh hey Nissa."  
"where are you two going?"  
"Jet and I are going for our messages; want to join?"  
"Nah I'm going to relax in the sauna for a few more hours. You two enjoy yourselves."  
Nissa went back into the sauna leaving the staff tug with us.  
"so you two want to go for your messages yes?"  
"yes please."  
"right this way."  
We followed the tug until we reached an outdoor patio with a beautiful garden in full bloom. We both stared at the garden with our mouths down and our eyes dilating to pin points.  
"Wow!"  
This was the only word the two of us could think of as we looked at the cascading waterfall in the back and the cherry blossoms lining the river. I don't know how long we stood there but we were interrupted by the messagers at the two message tables. I allowed Natalie to choose first then I followed suit and drove onto the other one. We both retracted our landing gear at the instructions of the massagers and relaxed in the padded table. After we were secured to the table so we wouldn't rock when the massagers were working the massagers started their work. I was admiring the garden and the peacefulness it contained when Natalie called my name.  
"Hey Jet?"  
"Yes Nat?"  
"first don't call me Nat and second don't you think this garden is beautiful."  
"yes the garden is very beautiful but your beauty outshines it and it will never fade."  
At my compliment Natalie turned a bright red while closing her eyes. I sat there for what felt like ages relaxing and admiring the garden while Natalie remained quiet. I was starting to doze off from relaxation when Natalie opened her eyes. I looked over at her and saw that her eyes were shining with tears. I couldn't tell if they were tears of happiness, pain, or sadness but the tears were there. Natalie cleared her throat and looked me in the eyes.  
"Jet. Do you love me?"  
I steadied my breath and said, "yes I do love you Natalie."  
At my response she let a deep sigh of relief and said the four words I thought I would never hear being said to me. "I love you to."  
Since the tables weren't that far apart Natalie reached her wing over and put it on top of mine in a loving way. We stayed like that for the rest of the massage but at the back of my mind I had a feeling that Nissa had a wheel in this. When the massagers were finished we left and got our waxes and when we left the spa we were both shining bright from the wax. When we reached the pits we found the racing official waiting at the gate tapping his wheels and he had a cross look on his face.  
"where have you two been?"  
"um we were at the spa."  
"oh that makes sense that Jet wouldn't want the other guys to find out that he went to the spa but at least he told me that he was heading out while you missy didn't so much as leave a note saying where you were going."  
"and I apologize for that. I'm not used to having to tell people when I'm heading out."  
"alright I'll let you off the hook this time but you can't be doing that during the races."  
"yes sir."  
Satisfied that he chewed Natalie out for leaving without telling any of the officials Frank left us to continue into the pits. As we rolled up to the new hanger we could hear laughter inside. We gave each other questioning glances and silently agreed to sneak up to the hanger door to see who was inside. Inside were our two mechanics laughing up a storm.  
"I can't believe you did that to them."  
"it's not like you wouldn't do it either."  
"did you really change their order so that those two would be alone in the romantic room?"  
"yes and I can't wait to see if they've fallen for each other because it's pretty obvious to us that they like each other."  
"yeah I agree. My question is; when are they going to be back?"  
"I don't really know. If they just went through the spa and nothing happened then they should be here soon but if they went out on a date then who knows when they'll be back."  
After hearing that I rotated by mini-gun under my nosecone to make a low whirring noise. As soon as the noise entered the hanger Luke froze because he knew that sound.  
"um Nissa."  
"yes Luke?"  
"they're here and heard everything we just said."  
When Luke said that Nissa turned as pale as Luke. They slowly turned around to face two irritated war planes.  
"I can't believe that you did that Nissa. I trusted you to stay out of my love life."  
"heh in my defense I just changed around where the message was taking place at nothing else."  
Just as she said that Ishani drove in to the hanger.  
"Hay Nissa do you think you could..."  
Ishani froze when she saw the two irritated war planes.  
"um did I come at a bad time?"  
The two tugs and Natalie said in unison, "yes"  
"um I'll come talk to you later Nissa."  
"alright."  
Then she said under her breath, "If I survive."  
"well by."  
Ishani backed out and rushed away from the hanger. Once she was gone Natalie continued her lecture to Nissa when the two girls noticed that I hadn't said a word.  
"Jet? Aren't you mad that she set us up in an awkward situation?"  
I remained silent but my angry gaze made Nissa cringe in fright. After a few minutes of silence Natalie gave Luke a questioning glance.  
"you don't want to know what he is capable of doing when you get him mad. In my opinion if you get him mad enough you are signing your death wish."  
That statement from Luke only made Nissa cringe in even more fear and it caused her to back away from me. The room was deathly quiet until I finally spoke, "we will deal with this after the rally."  
Nissa let out a sigh of relief.  
"But!"  
She froze in her sigh.  
"it doesn't mean your off the hook."  
She seamed to wither on the spot when I said that.  
"now if you three don't mind I would like to get some sleep for the race tomorrow."  
After I said that I rolled over to my sleeping mat and fell into a deep sleep and the rest quickly followed.


	12. Chapter 12

**(AN) Hi everyone I'm back but only briefly as I swamped with online summer school and this is the only story I have at the moment that has chapters already prewritten. Hopefully next week I'll have time to write and upload all of my stories. No promises. As always leave a review and tell me what you guys (or gals) think about the story so far and PM me with any questions you want answered as I check it almost regularly.**

Chapter 12

'Good morning race fans. Today is day one of the Wings around the globe rally.'  
As the announcer continued to announce where the race was leading us all of the planes including us were lining up in formation inside the tunnel that leads to the runway. We were waiting anxiously for the race to start when one of the officials ordered all of us to file out to the runway and get into position. As all of the racers exited the tunnel the announcer announced their name. When we came out there were murmurs and whispers in the crowd because there has never been a jet powered plane in the race before.  
'Our champ from last year is taking his position in the back of the pack just like last year and oh what's this? Two jet planes are going to be racing today and due to their engine flares they are being placed in the back of the pack and are required to wait until the rest of the racers have taken off to reduce the chance of a wreck at launch. I hope they don't get jet lag.'  
At the joke everyone in the crowd laughed as well as the other racers. When I looked over to Natalie she had a determined look on her face.  
"you ready Nat?"  
"I was made ready, you?"  
"my turbines are burning to start."  
We made our way to the blast pads that had been placed at the back of the runway and waited for the signal to start.  
'all right race fans here we go. Racers start your engines.'  
Every sound was drowned out as propellers started to whir and spin. Natalie and I just smirked at each other and I said, "let's show them how a real engine starts."  
"agreed."  
We both warmed up our engines and roared them as loud as we could. Once the start-up from our engines died away the crowd went wild.  
'Well folks it looks like the jets have some strong engines to make such a ruckus. Anyways let the race begin.'  
The light next to the announcer started counting down.  
"red light"  
"red light"  
"fast red light"  
"faster red light"  
"fast yellow light"  
"Faster yellow light"  
"Green."  
As soon as the light turned green the planes in front of us took off at break neck speed leaving behind a lot of swirls. A countdown clock then appeared on screen next to the announcer.  
'Alright you two you can take off in.'  
The crowd and the announcer started to countdown.  
""Ten""  
""Nine""  
""Eight""  
""Seven""  
""Six""  
""Five""  
""Four""  
""Three""  
""Two""  
""One""  
""Zero""  
As soon as the countdown clock reached zero Natalie and I floored our accelerators and rocketed down the runway and took off. We activated our afterburners to gain more speed as we slowly caught up with the other racers. Because of how our engines are naturally loud the other racers saw us approaching fast before we were even near them. The racer in last place of the propeller run planes started to radio out warnings to the other racers that we were approaching from behind fast. Many of the racers in front didn't take head of his warning while the planes near him could hear the fast approaching jets. We flew past about half of the racers before we had to slow down to preserve fuel for the rest of the race. We ended up flying beside El chukkacabra and Rochelle.  
"Wow you two are fast. I commend you on your speed but I have to ask. Why slow down?"  
"sí why slow down?"  
"we can go fast but the faster we go the more fuel we use and it is dangerous to use up our fuel fast when there is no airfields or aircraft carriers nearby."  
"oh that makes much more sense but why stop halfway through the group when you are at an advantage?"  
"we can reach Mock 4 in a minute flat so as soon as land is in sight we will drop down and floor our engines."  
"wow. well good luck you two."  
"thanks and good luck to you two."  
After a few hours of constant flight land came into view. We gave each other a nod and dropped down below the cloud layer and floored it. Since our engines generate heat it kept the cold off of us while we sped towards the airfield in the distance. We could already see the leaders Ripslinger and his gang and Dusty dropping through the cloud layer and lining up for landing. We had a choice of either speeding up and landing in front of them or pull back and come in fifth and sixth place. We then decided to speed up and land in between Ripslinger and the twins. We sped up and came up under the twins and since the blizzard masked our engine noise they were startled when we came into view beneath them. Them being startled gave us the opening to squeeze between them and Ripslinger and since our engines was sending out intense heat they backed off to avoid the heat. Once we landed in the airfield we looked at the scoreboard to see that Natalie came in Third and I came in Fourth with Dusty in First and Ripslinger in Second and surprisingly Ned and Zed fell back into Ninth and Tenth place. When we reached the indoor hanger to rest we could see Ned and Zed being chewed out by Ripslinger for falling so far behind.  
"but boss it wasn't our fault."  
"yeah it was those jets that caused us to fall behind."  
"and how did they cause you to fall so far behind?"  
"the heat from their engines was too hot to stay behind and when we backed up the racers behind us passed us."  
"that is no excuse! Get ahead in the next leg of the race by any means necessary. Am I understood?"  
"yes sir."  
When we heard that plan we knew we had to get ahead of Ripslinger early in the race because the trick we pulled won't work twice.


	13. Chapter 13

**(AN) No Comment.**

Chapter 13

Once the rush of that leg of the race wore off the two of us instantly became aware of how cold it was.  
"Hey Nat."  
"Yes Jet?"  
"it's pretty cold here don't you think."  
"I agree. I think I might leave my engines running to stay warm."  
"that sounds like a good idea but won't that cause your engine to overheat?"  
"yes and no. Yes if the temperature outside is warm no if it's cold out then the cold will counter the heat keeping it cool."  
We continued to talk until the Indian racer Ishani came into the main hanger slightly frozen followed by the last batch of racers. We watched in silence as she wheeled over to Dusty and the British Racer Bulldog and started to talk with them. We looked between each other and silently agreed to go over there and try to talk with the group. When we came closer to them I could hear them laughing about something.  
"Your Name's Ishani right?"  
The Indian racer looked over at us as well as the other two at the fire pit.  
"Yes and you two must be those new jet racers. It was Jet and Natalie, right?"  
"yep that's us."  
"I must say that you two can fly pretty fast but I'm curious as to why you pulled power when you were quickly gaining the lead."  
"I would also like to know that?"  
"well we are capable of breaking the sound barrier but at a high cost of fuel so we have to preserve it over the ocean when there are no known refueling stations."  
"oh I see. Playing it safe is always the better route than risking your life."  
"I'll have to agree with you on that Ishani."  
"I think I know what your talking about Dusty."  
"Really?"  
"Yeah. You're talking about when you took Ishani's advice and followed the Iron road through the Himalayas and risked your life to go through that tunnel that she failed to mention was there."  
At my explanation Ishani looked sad and Dusty had an uneasy look. We just sat there in complete silence before I broke the silence, "don't worry Ishani. I don't hold things like that against others."  
At my statement they all relaxed.  
"well I'm off to get some rest for tomorrows leg of the race. Goodnight."  
"Night."

(Natalie's POV)

As soon as Jet was out of earshot I was bombarded with questions by the three racers. I answered all honestly but when Ishani asked, "Are you dating him?" I completely froze while at the same time I let out a bright red blush that showed my embarrassment.  
"Well we haven't had an official date yet but we plan on having one after the rally."  
"Jet sounds like a swell guy from what I've heard."  
"Yeah he's caring and sweet and..."  
As I rambled on I noticed that Ishani and Dusty were parked pretty close to each other.  
"Ishani?"  
"Yes Natalie?"  
"you don't have to answer this but um have you and Dusty ever went out on a date?"  
At my question both of them turned red while Bulldog was just silently laughing.  
"Well um actually yes we have. What about you and Jet?"  
That question made me freeze as I realized that I rolled into that one.  
"Well we haven't gone on an official date yet but we want to finish this race first before we do anything."  
"Really? I thought that you and Jet would be going back to the military after this."  
"Actually Dusty the military doesn't want us anymore so we won't be going back to them."  
After my explanation the three racers shook their cowl in understanding.  
"Well if you three will excuse me I'm going to get some rest for tomorrow's leg."  
"Well is was nice talking to you Natalie."  
"Same here Dusty."  
After we said our goodnights I went to refuel then went to sleep in my hanger.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

(Jet's POV)  
The next morning Natalie and I rolled up to the edge of the landing strip only to have to argue with the race official about our engines sending a blast of fire behind us. After a few minutes of arguing the officials agreed to have us launch from a parallel airstrip so that when the other racers took off one by one they wouldn't be injured by our jets. Nat and I rolled up to our positions with Nat slightly ahead of me because of her placing and waited for the other racers to get into position. Once everyone was in position Dusty was signaled to launch and he was shortly followed by Ripslinger and once he was in the air we were signaled to launch. Natalie went down the runway at full throttle with me close behind. Once we were airborne my radar picked up the other racers launching from the runway behind us. I quickly flew next to Natalie before we both nodded and sped forward taking Ripslinger by surprise as he was passed on both sides. After we had passed Ripslinger we moved into a fighter formation behind Dusty and stayed in that position as we went thru the obstacle course throughout the German country side. This leg of the race would have gone by without any further incident but that was not true because as soon as Natalie and I crossed over a mountain range and leaving Dusty behind us an air raid siren went off in a nearby german military base. At first we thought that it didn't concern us but we were proven wrong when German fighter planes where heading our way.  
"Attention unidentified aircraft. You are entering a restricted area. Turn back now or we will open fire."  
"Woah woah woah. Hold on dude we are in the wings around the globe rally and currently we are in first and second place.."  
"Standby."  
After a few minutes of silence with the squad of German jets tailing us the radio crackled to life.  
"Your clear to proceed. Squad fall back to base and you two follow me through the restricted area."  
"Yes sir."  
"Right behind you Jet."  
All of the German jets broke pursuit and left us alone with their commander. We slowed down to let the commander pass us then we formed up behind him.  
"so you two are the jets everyone is talking about. It seams like you two have all of the nations watching in anticipation to see how the race will end."  
"really."  
"Yeah. Everyone wants to see if the jets have the skill to beat the best prop racers."  
"cool."  
"Well here's the edge of the no fly zone so I'll let the two of you go now."  
"Thanks for the escort sir."  
"No problem. Good luck."  
With that the commander broke formation and returned to base while we continued on with the race. When we reached the end of the obstacle course Nat and I floored our throttles and used our boosters to add speed. I started to pull ahead of Natalie with my superior speed when a Mach cone started to form in front of me.  
"Nat! Fall back. I'm about to break the sound barrier."  
I heard the sound of her air-brakes activating then the Mach cone imploded. The sound was deafening as the loud boom sent out a shockwave to my sides and behind me. I looked back to see Natalie struggling to stay level as the shockwave hit her. As I flew on I noticed that she was getting farther and farther behind until she was just a spec in the sky. When I looked forward again I was surprised to see another Mach cone forming with it being with two cones instead of one. The only downside was that I was approaching the finish line for this leg of the race fast and if I didn't slow down then a lot of glass was going to shatter as well as causing me to shoot past the airport. I started to apply my own air-brakes when the worst thing happened. Both Mach cones imploded causing a very loud double boom while at the same time the sudden burst of speed damaged my air-brakes with the semi audible sound of metal screeching as it bent back. Everyone on the ground winced at the two loud booms while others near windows dodged away from them as they shattered. As I continued to pick up speed I attempted to apply me air-brakes again but all I got was the sound of the air-brakes struggling to move. As I shot over the finish line everyone cheered but I wasn't feeling so cheerful as I had no way to stop immediately and with my air-brakes out I couldn't land safely. I kept calm as I started to circle the airfield and lower my throttle. After about five laps I was back to about normal speed but I still needed to slow down. It was at this point that everyone was wondering what was going on as I kept circling the airfield.  
'Um Jet this is the air control tower. What are you doing up there? You've already crossed the finish line so you can land now.'  
"Sorry tower but I can't land without possibly crashing."  
"WHAT! Why?"  
"My air-brakes got damaged and I can't use them to slow down to a safe speed."  
'Do you need emergency crews to help you land?'  
"I don't think that will be."  
I was cut off by the sound of my low fuel indicator blaring an alarm at me telling me that I was on empty. Then my engines lost power with the turbines slowing down with a dying whirr.  
"On second thought tower I will most likely need the emergency crew cause um. I JUST RAN OUT OF FUEL!"  
'Roger jet. The runway is clear with emergency crews standing by.'  
"Alright I only have one shot at landing."  
I lined up with the runway just as my momentum started to slow down and putting me into a glide. I slowly made my way to the landing strip and was about to touch down when all of a sudden a strong wind came up and lifted me up higher off the landing stripe. I was running out of useable runway when I made a split second choice that could possibly disqualify me. There was nothing in front of me but open fields with no buildings for miles so I did the only thing I could think of to push me back. I opened fire using the training rounds to prevent damage to anything nearby. There were several screams and gasps of terror as my main guns opened fire while at the same time I felt myself get pushed back from the recoil. After a few seconds of firing I was out of rounds but it did the trick as I landed on the airstrip and engaged my brakes immediately as I skidded across the airstrip with my back wheels fish tailing. I was rapidly approaching the end of the airstrip with everyone holding their breath as I drew ever closer to the end. At the last second I fired a single test round that was left in the chamber. The recoil was enough to stop me on the very edge of the airstrip with there being only inches between my wheel and the edge of the airstrip. Everyone including me released our breathes as the near tragic crash was avoided. My vision went blurry as the adrenaline started to wear off and the emergency crew rushing towards me. The last thing I saw before I past out was Natalie landing with an excited smile only for it to turn to a look of worry when she saw me being surrounded by emergency crews.  
 **(AN) Cliffhanger. Will Jet be OK to race or will he be pulled out of the race for being armed or from damage; who knows. Until next Time.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey guys sorry I haven't updated in ages and no I'm not dead just my high school life is taking a lot of my time but don't worry as I will have a lot more free time to write once my senior year ends this year. So to make up for the delay I will be posting the three chapters I have for this story as it is the only one currently that I have chapters for.**

 **So enough of my rambling on with the story.**

Chapter 15

(Natalie's POV)

When I landed at the checkpoint I was so excited to be in second as well as feeling the adrenaline in flying in the aftershock of the first Mach cone imploding but all of that excitement and happiness vanished when I saw Jet at the very edge of the airstrip being surrounded by emergency crews and the tire streaks and spent training rounds on the entire length of the airstrip. When I landed I instantly moved to head over to where Jet was but the emergency crew was towing him off the airstrip and I was instantly surrounded by the press.

"Did you see the wreck of the other jet?"

"are you armed as well?"

"is it true the two of you are seeing each other."

These questions and many more started to overwhelm me as I started to panic for Jet's safety. The presses' attention was instantly attracted by the sound of prop planes coming in for landing. I was grateful for the distraction as I slipped away from the press to go and find a racing official and ask him what exactly happened.

(An hour later)

Me as well as the rest of the racers waited impatiently as the race officials turned on the tv to show what had happened. The video started out with Jet coming in fast then the sound of two booms from the sound barrier being broken then the slight sound of metal bending then it showed him circling the airfield with his air-brakes visibly broken then to everyones horror his engine stopped as he ran out of fuel then the video showed that he was going to make a safe landing until a strong wind picked him up and knocked him off course scaring everyone then everyone got even more frightened when Jet opened fire until he landed. When the video showed him firing many racers who didn't know me scooted away from me in fear. The video continued as it showed him slamming on his breaks and going to fast towards the edge of the airstrip. At this point everyone was scared for Jet as it looked like he was going to crash head first hard then the resounding boom of the guns firing a single round startled everyone including me. We watched as the shot pushed him back from the edge and to a complete stop. This was where the video stopped as every single racer was either afraid that he was armed or the fact that he almost died in the crash. There was the sound of a tug clearing his throat as everyone turned to look at Frank.

"For those of you wondering. Jet will be ok and back in the race. Until then all racers are to go through a mandatory inspection to fix or replace any damaged parts as no one wants this kind of accident to happen again."

Many planes groaned at the inconvenience while others agreed with the decision of the officials. Frank then turned to me.

"Miss Natalie if you will kindly follow me I have something to speak to you about."

"um ok."

I followed Frank out of the main hanger hub and as he led I asked him the question I've been dying to know.

"Is Jet ok right now?"

Frank let a sigh before he glanced at me.

"He will be alright but right now the medics and mechanics are working with nearby military engineers to get his air-brakes fixed as well as any other damage he could have sustained from that last minute maneuver of his."

Frank chuckles lightly as he continued speaking, "He gave everyone a scare with that double sonic boom of his then those that weren't scared got scared when he reported that his air-brakes weren't working and he ran out of fuel and when everyone started to relax when he was almost on the ground then the wind decides to pick up and throw him off balance. Then everyone including the few that weren't scared freaked out when he started firing his gun and the single shot after startled everyone. You guys have very loud guns in my opinion."

"yeah well in a battle situation the noise is often drowned out by your engines."

"well no doubt people are going to want the two of you to get rid of your ammo but after what everyone witnessed with his rounds saving him from crashing there will no doubt be a big debate between whether you two should be allowed to keep your ammo or not."

"they might want to watch the video closely and the shell casings because it looked like Jet was only firing training rounds."

"training rounds?"

"yep non-explosive rounds that if you do get hit by them all you feel is something bumping into them."

"they will still debate on whether you two should keep your ammo even if it is only training rounds."

"I wouldn't put it past them."

"true. Well here we are."

I look up to see that while we had been talking Frank had led me to the medical hanger.

"go ahead and keep an eye on him and if he wakes up tell me and the medical staff immediately."

"Yes sir."

I watched as Frank left the medical hanger then once he was out of site I turned to enter the medical hanger. When I entered I was met with the sight of tugs replacing his wheels while other tugs in military coloring where attempting to fix his air-brakes. There were two tugs that were armed standing on either side of the door I came through. They only glanced at me before they returned to looking forward. I parked next to Jet and started the long wait to see if he will be ok or not.

(Several hours later)

(Jet's POV)

I slowly woke up to find my wings really sore as well as my wheels feeling different. I open my eyes only to see two military guards at the door in front of me. These weren't just any guards these were united states guards. Before I could wonder why there were two guards one of them noticed that I was awake.

"Sir. He's awake."

About a minute later a jeep with a generals insignia on his bumper entered the room.

"Leave us."

The guards and the few medic tugs I didn't notice left the room. It was at this time that I noticed that Natalie was in the room as well and was parked parallel to me. I looked back at the jeep and moved to salute but the soreness stopped me.

"Sir."

"at ease soldier. You should be resting after a stunt like that. No doubt your wings are going to be sore for a few hours."

"Yes sir."

"I only assume that you know that this isn't just a casual visit but a proposal for a mission."

"What kind of mission sir?"

"escort of a VIP through hostile territory."

"we would like to act as escort for a VIP. right Natalie.?"

"Right."

"alright. You two will be loaded up with fresh ammo and rearmed with various air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles as this is a very high profile VIP and we are pulling all of the stops to make sure that he or she is safe."

"Yes sir."

"Permission to speak sir?"

"Granted Natalie."

"What about the race?"

"the escort route follows the race route all the way back to the states and once you enter U.S. Airspace you will be relived of your escort detail by the VIP's original escort and be permitted to finish the race."

"Who is the VIP sir?"

"Follow me and you will see."

The jeep led the way through the doors as we followed him through the hallways then out onto the airstrip. We followed him until he stopped in front of a heavily guarded hanger that was triple the size of a standard hanger. I started to get a suspicious feeling that I knew who it was. When we entered we were greeted with the sight of air force one standing at attention for the slightest warning of needing to take off quickly. The general stopped in front of the big jetliner and turned to face us.

"As you can tell. The president is here in Germany for a confidential conference but your mission is not to transport him but to transport."

"Me."

Natalie and I turned to see an A-10 thunderbird with pink streaks going along its wings and body. When I saw the jet in question my military stature faltered as I recognized the jet.

"Why are you here Sarah?"

"Oh if it isn't my old friend Jet Jetstream."

At this point Air force one, the general, and Natalie had questioning looks on their faces and all three asked at the same time, "You two know each other?"

"Yeah. He was once on my personal security detail and when we were younger we would always play together. So basically we've known each other for our entire life then he got sent to that military base for some unknown reason and that was the last time I ever saw him."

Everyone looked at me questioningly and I just replied to their unspoken question, "Don't ask."

The general quickly recovered from his surprise and addressed the two of us.

"The two of you will be escorting Sarah and her little sister Virginia."

At the mention of her name a little white SUV drove through the door. When Natalie saw the little SUV she got a confused look on her face as she looked at Sarah for an explanation.

"How are the two of you sisters and isn't she the president's daughter?"

"Yes well before the president became president he adopted me when I was very little and just recently he was able to have a little girl of his own with his wife."

"Ooh."

"I hate to be the blunt one and you know I hate being blunt Sarah but how is she going to be escorted through the air?"

"That's why Air force one is here. He's going to be carrying her and you two will have to guard him and me."

"Are you riding in Air force One?"

"Nope. I'm flying with you guys."

"What happened to both of your personal escorts."

"That is confidential Jet."

"It's alright general they can know. You see in order to come here to the conference we had to cut down on the security personal we could bring with us so that they could fit in air force one here and the air escort needs to be on standby for the president and since there have been threats to his family he wants us to head back to the United States."

"makes sense. Hey Natalie when is the race scheduled to continue?"

"the day after tomorrow since they had to clean up the mess you made."

I lowered my head slightly in embarrassment as I was reminded of the near crash and the mess I left in my wake. The general seamed unfazed as he spoke again.

"In the meantime you two will be refitted with a full payload while you miss Sarah will only be fitted with standard rounds and air-to-air missiles."

"Yes sir."

"Well I will leave you to get acquainted with each other while in Jet's case get reacquainted with Sarah."

The general left us alone in a very quiet hanger. Virginia got bored just siting there so she went to see if any of the guards would play with her. As soon as she was gone Sarah gave me a death glare as she rolled up to me.

"What was the big idea disappearing like that and making me think you abandoned me!"

Now air force one and Natalie had curious looks on their faces.

"now I'm curious. What happened?"

"I still don't know to this day. Jet here is the only one that knows what happened on that day."

Everyone looked at me expectantly while Sarah was giving a look that suggested that I better start explaining.

"Alright I'll tell you three but what I'm about to say can not leave this hanger."

After everyone agreed I continued.

"It all started like any other day."

 **AN: Story Time next time.**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Me and the rest of Sarah's security detail were flying in formation around Sarah as she was heading to one of her classes because this happened back when she was still a college student trying to get a degree even though her adopted father was the president. We were almost to the class when I received a private transmission saying that the commander needed to see me. I didn't think anything of it as it was common to be called in by the commander so I informed the rest of the squad and Sarah that I was being called in by the commander and broke formation and returned to base. When I landed back at the base I was greeted by an empty base with no jets or tugs moving around like they normally do. I slowly went through the base and entered the building the commander was stationed in and came up to his office. I tapped on the door and waited for a reply. There was none. After waiting a few minutes I pushed open the door and entered the dark room. As soon as the door shut there was an audible click as it locked. I turned to face the door with my stun rounds armed as I was on high alert for any hostiles. Then I heard someone clear their throat behind me.

"Lieutenant Jetstream. Thank you for being so fast to my summons."

I slowly turn around to come face to face with the President as he sat in the Commander's chair. I instantly saluted and stood at attention.

"Sir."

"At ease."

"If I may sir. Why did you call me into the Commander's office when I'm on duty protecting your daughter?"

The president's neutral smile instantly turned to one of a hostile glare.

"Because you are getting too close to her and I don't want her to get attached to you and have that influence messing up her school life and I don't want her to suffer a broken heart if you ever decide to leave her for someone else or you get destroyed in the line of duty. As a father I am taking precautions against that happening by having you reassigned to a base that is far from her and is in need of your service."

"excuse my rudeness sir but you can't do that. What will you do when she starts asking around to my whereabouts."

"I have that taken care of."

As he said that he pulled up a video of me flying one of the patrol routes then the video glitches slightly then a missile suddenly appears underneath me and hits my engine and breaks my wing off. I watched as audio came through of me saying, "may day may day I've been hit on."

The audio cut off as the video showed me crashing into the ocean. There the video stops as he looks at me again.

"I will only show this video to her if she truly does show feelings for you but if she doesn't then I will just say that you were reassigned but if you attempt to make contact with her or tell her about this meeting then I will make sure you will be positioned in the worst base possible with a low chance of survivability."

The last part he spoke threateningly as he continued to glare. Then like a light switch he went back to his neutral smile as he said, "You are to grab your gear and load onto the next supply plane out as soon as possible."

My engine was boiling with rage at the threat but I knew I couldn't do anything so I just replied in a curt tone, "Yes sir."

I turned to leave and was halfway out the door when he spoke once more.

"Remember steer clear of my daughter or else."

I just flared my engine slightly then I went to my hanger and packed up my gear. Once I had everything packed I got onto the cargo plane he designated to be my transport and the rest is history.

 **AN: kind of short I know but its only a flashback.**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Ones I finished the flashback I looked at everyone to see their reaction. Their reactions varied as Sarah look like she was about to shoot the first thing to cross her sights while Natalie had a mixture of sadness and anger while Air Force One had a look of disgust. Sarah was the first to break the silence as she looked at me.

"I need to have a talk with you outside privately."

I slowly followed her outside then I followed her to an abandoned part of the airport. Once she stopped I stopped a little ways behind her. She let out her breathe she had been holding and looked up into the sky.

"Did my father really reassign you because he feared you would break my heart?"

"Sadly yes."

"Well he failed in his mission because as soon as I got out of class and learned that you had been reassigned and left without even telling me."

She lowered her nosecone as she let out a suppressed sob.

"My heart was shattered into a million pieces. Depression hits hard because for the first few months after you were reassigned I stayed in my room and refused to see anyone and I barely ate. My father was so busy that he didn't notice my depression until it had already set in. When he finally saw what was happening to me I always noticed a look of guilt on his face and one time I even heard him pick up the phone and call up a base. His look of guilt quickly changed to one of pure guilt and regret. He had hung up the phone very slowly before looking at me and telling me that the supply plane you were on had been shot down."

At this point Sarah was openly crying and shaking slightly. I carefully rolled up next to her and gave her a hug. At this gesture she completely broke down and she let the tears flow.

"It's alright now Sarah. I'm still alive and I'm here now."

We stayed like that for a few more minutes then sarah let out a final sniffle before she hardened her gaze.

"Let's head back to the hanger before they send someone to look for us."

"Alright but are you sure you're going to be alright?"

Sarah froze at the question before she slowly turned around to look at me. I couldn't tell what she was thinking but my wings became heavy as I felt a sense of dread.

"Your seeing that frogfoot right now right?"

"Yes."

Sarah just smirks as she moves closer and whispers into my ear.

"Then I guess I'll have to steal you back."

I didn't have time react as she gave me a big passionate kiss on the lips then she bolted back to the hanger leaving me there frozen as thousands of thoughts went racing through my mind but the only thought that stood out was, "My life is going to be very hard during this escort."

 **AN: things are going to be getting very interesting from here on out. again sorry for the short chapter but I promise the next chapter will be a longer one.**


End file.
